So, another clash brewing between EU and UK negotiators, this time on the thorny question of the UK extraditing its nationals to EU member states post-Brexit. At present, all member states extradite their nationals under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).
1/ According to an internal note circulated to member states, seen by @rtenews, the European Commission has raised concerns about the UK wanting a broad range of grounds on which to refuse to extradite one of its citizens to an EU member state.
2/ The note says there has been some progress on the police and judicial cooperation chapter of the negotiations. “On several issues, it may have laid the ground for possible ways forward, but it has fallen short of allowing any concrete progress on substance.”
3/ One sticking point appears the issue of extradition. The UK appear to want the right to refuse to extradite its citizens on the grounds of human rights, whether the alleged crime is “proportionate” to the extradition request, and whether the EU MS is ready to begin the trial.
4/ The European Commission says overall these grounds for refusing extradition are “not acceptable”, unprecedented and potentially “one-sided”
5/ The Commission says such grounds for refusing to extradite are not found in other agreements between the EU and third countries, such as Iceland and Norway, and are not found in the European Arrest Warrant.
6/ The Commission says the issue of protecting a suspect’s human rights is better underwritten by the commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Britain remains a signatory.
7/ According to the paper, the UK wants to be able to refuse an extradition request if a British judge believes it is “disprorportionate”, ie if the seriousness of the offence merits it, or if the penalty merits it
8/ The Commission argues that it’s up to the member state requesting the extradition to decide if it is “proportionate” or not.
9/ The paper states: “There is no need for such a ground for refusal in the agreement, and it runs counter the objective to create an effective surrender mechanism, because it provides for a wide margin to refuse surrender.”
10/ The UK is also including “trial readiness” as a potential grounds for refusal, ie if the UK believes a suspect won’t face trial immediately. The EU believes suspects can be extradited even if an investigation is ongoing as it cd prevent the suspect intimidating witnesses etc
11/ Overall the European Commission is advising member states that the UK demands are unprecedented and go too far.
12/ “These grounds for refusal would be unprecedented. In our view, they would give too wide a margin of appreciation, or would excessively limit the scope of surrender proceedings, thus defeating the objective of creating an effective surrender mechanism,” the paper concludes.
13/ The internal paper says the Commission is now seeking the views of member states. I’ll have the full story on the @rtenews website shortly
14/ Worth remembering the role of the European Arrest Warrant in terms of police and judicial cooperation prior to Brexit.
15/ According to the House of Commons Library extradition requests to the UK under the EAW increased from 1,865 in 2004 to 12,613 in 2015. Requests made by the UK to other Member States went up from 96 to 228 per year over the same period.
16/ The EAW is currently the only method by which suspects can be extradited by the PSNI to the Garda and vice versa.
